Notes on a shootaround: Lillard has Spurs’ attention

Coming into the season, Spurs forward Stephen Jackson — like most everybody else in the NBA — considered New Orleans big man Anthony Davis the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year honors.

Damian Lillard?

“Never heard of him before this year,” Jackson said.

The Portland point guard, selected sixth overall out of tiny Weber State five spots behind Davis, has since emerged as the consensus top rookie in the NBA. Lillard has done it partly at the Spurs’ expense, averaging 24.5 points, five rebounds and six assists against them this season.

The 22-year-old’s candidacy seemed to take off on Dec. 23 after he scored 29 points to help the Trail Blazers beat the Spurs on national television. It certainly opened the Spurs’ eyes.

For the season, Lillard is averaging 18.6 points, tops among NBA rookies. Containing him will be at or near the top of the Spurs’ scouting report when the Trail Blazers visit the AT&T Center tonight.

“A shoo-in for Rookie of the Year, no question,” Jackson said after shootaround this morning. “I think he’s a very confident rookie. He’s playing like it. He’s been playing well all season. Obviously a great complement to (LaMarcus) Aldridge. They play well together.

The Spurs have split a pair of games at the Rose Garden this season, winning 112-109 behind Gary Neal’s 27 points a month before Lillard beat them in the rematch.

In addition to Lillard, the Blazers have three players averaging better than 20 points against the Spurs this season. Aldridge (25.5) and Nicolas Batum (22) are the others.

“I’m not going to say it’s going to be an easy walk in the park,” Jackson said. “We have to go out there and play our game, try to take care of the ball. They’re a great 3-point shooting team, so we have to limit that and keep them off the line. We have to play good defense against Aldridge and Lillard, because they’re going to come out and try to take over the game.”

Other notes from this morning’s shootaround:

* Reserve guard Patty Mills played his first two seasons with Portland from 2009 to 2011. The Trail Blazers were 6-1 against the Spurs over that span. The most memorable game was a 98-86 affair at the Rose Garden in March 2011 that the Blazers’ won on a buzzer-beating alley-oop from Andre Miller to Batum.

“We were aware of it,” Mills said of the Blazers’ surprising stranglehold over the Spurs during his tenure. “No doubt there is a rivalry there.”

Over three seasons from 2008 to 2011, Portland won nine of 11 against the Spurs. With a victory tonight, the Spurs can claim the season series against the Blazers for the second time since 2007-08.

*Mills has been a key part of the committee filling in at point guard with All-Star Tony Parker out with a sprained left ankle. He is coming off a solid game against Chicago, in which he scored 13 points and hit three 3-pointers in relief of substitute starter Cory Joseph.

“The point guard is the position we have to pick up, but it’s not only us,’ Mills said. ‘Everyone is stepping up and making big plays. Point guard, power forwards, centers we’re all stepping in and doing a good job together.”

* If the Spurs own an obvious advantage in this game, it with the bench. Portland’s starting five of Lillard, Wes Matthews, Batum, Aldridge and J.J. Hickson ranks as the top scoring unit in the NBA at 80.4 points per game. The Blazers’ bench, however, ranks last in the NBA –and by a healthy margin — at 17.1 points per game.